Lancaster Conservancy

In honor of the first day of fall, here are some of our favorite autumn hikes...

🍂 Clark Nature Preserve - Explore the universally accessible Lloyd Clark Trail surrounded by meadow and woods edge, or take a more challenging hike out to House Rock Overlook for a beautiful view of the Susquehanna and the kaleidoscope of color the forest canopy turns in fall.

🍂 Mill Creek Falls Nature Preserve - A universal access trail goes through forest that will be red, yellow, orange, and brown as the leaves change. For a more challenging hike, the red-blazed Mill Creek Falls Trail travels down slope from the parking area along a creek and ends in a rhododendron glen at the 10-foot-tall Mill Creek Falls.

🍂 Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve - Take the Mason-Dixon Trail south for a difficult 2-mile out-and-back hike to Buzzards Roost, a rock outcrop that provides great views of the Susquehanna, while enjoying the yellows and reds of the tulip poplars and maples. (Note: There is limited parking available at the Mason-Dixon Trailhead for this preserve.)

🍂 Welsh Mountain Nature Preserve - Loop through a forest dominated by oak, hickory, maple, and tulip poplar on the natural surface Upland Loop Trail or the universal access trail. Stop by the overlook for a vista of the Lancaster County countryside.

Find trail maps, driving directions, and more information at ➡ https://www.lancasterconservancy.org/preserves/!

🔶 Remember! Hunters wear orange, and so should you. 🔶

📸: Clark Nature Preserve by Avery Van Etten

What's that off in the distance? Hang on, let me get my binoculars. Oh! It's Trail Fest! And it looks like it's only a month away!

Gather your family and friends and join us on Saturday, October 17 at Ingrid Graham Historic Hellam Nature Preserve for live music, food, community, and a celebration of nature. 🎶🌳

Learn more and get your tickets today at lancasterconservancy.org/trailfest!

📸: Michelle Johnsen

Spring wildflowers get all the attention, but fall has its own beautiful blooms that are nothing to sneeze at (unless, you know, you have seasonal allergies).

Nature's autumnal attractions include bright orange jewelweed, yellow goldenrod, vibrant purple asters, and more!

Things change fast at this time of year. One day the forest canopy is green, the next it’s yellow and orange, and the day after that it’s on the ground. Flowers progress quickly, too, as they take advantage of the last weeks of warmth and longer days to attract pollinators and ensure the continuation of their species.

Learn more about the fall flowers you can find in our area at ➡ https://www.lancasterconservancy.org/news/fall-wildflowers/

📸: Jewelweed by Keith Williams

As the new school year is getting started, we're excited to be welcoming students out to our nature preserves for the fall season of K-12 conservation education programming!

Students have been connecting with nature and learning about conservation through activities including invasive species removal and preserve stewardship as well as birding (a group this week spotted multiple species of hawks, clouds of turkey vultures, and a huge wave of 100+ tree swallows migrating over Ingrid Graham Historic Hellam Nature Preserve!)

Learn more about our K-12 conservation education program at ➡ https://www.lancasterconservancy.org/engaging-our-community/k-12-education/

📸: Students at Ingrid Graham Historic Hellam Nature Preserve by Peggy Eppig

PRESERVE NOTICE: All trails at Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve are CLOSED as of Tuesday, 9/8, while trail maintenance and improvements are underway. Lancaster Conservancy is working to make the Gamber Wildflower Trail a universally accessible natural-surface trail, restoring it to the width of the narrow gauge rail line that historically ran through the area and making public access more sustainable.

While the trails within Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve are closed, the preserve remains open for hunting, and the parking for the Enola Low Grade Rail Trail remains open.

We anticipate reopening the trails at Shenks Ferry by early March ahead of the 2027 spring ephemeral season.

Thank you for your patience as we care for this preserve!

We're looking forward to being part of York Watershed Week, hosted by Watershed Alliance of York PA! During this week of events highlighting the importance of our local watersheds, join the Conservancy for a presentation on the Underwater World of the Susquehanna Riverlands on 9/15! 🐟

Learn more and sign up at https://watershedallianceofyork.org/watershed-week

📸: Mill Creek Falls Nature Preserve by Rachel Haynes

The start of September has us looking forward to fall! While you're gardening this autumn, keep these tips in mind to help support habitat for birds, pollinators, and other wildlife:

🍂 Leave the leaves! Many insects spend the winter among the leaves as eggs, caterpillars, chrysalises, or adults.

🌱 Keep the stems! Leaving wildflower stalks and seed heads in your garden over the fall and winter can help provide food and habitat for bugs.

🪏 Grow your garden! Replace lawn with native plants, which provide habitat for wildlife while also helping protect healthy waterways. Get your plants in the ground up to six weeks before the first frost.

Learn more about ecological gardening for fall at ➡️ https://www.lancasterconservancy.org/news/ecological-gardening-for-fall/

📸: Nick Gould

Climbers Run Nature Center update!

Over the summer, efforts to stabilize the berm and dredge accumulated sediment out of the Climbers Run pond were completed. Renovation of the Russo Family Foundation Barn & Education Center is now in progress.

Updates to the barn will include installing an observation deck, raising the interior beams to create an improved layout, installing bird-safe glass and a modern HVAC system, and creating the C. Alan Bruns Water Quality Lab where volunteer water testing will be conducted.

Learn more about the project and follow along for updates at ➡ https://www.lancasterconservancy.org/news/transforming-climbers-run-nature-center/

📸: Keith Williams

Recently, we partnered with Western Pennsylvania Conservancy for a series of workdays at Shenks Ferry Wildflower Preserve. Lancaster Conservancy volunteers and staff and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy staff worked together to remove invasive burning bush and round-leaved bittersweet.

We love the opportunity to connect and collaborate with partners that are caring for our natural lands!

📸: Becky Chalupa

We are excited to announce the opening of a new hiking trail at Safe Harbor Nature Preserve! The trail takes visitors through a restored meadow and patch woodlands that provide critically important grassland and edge habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. 🦋🐝🐦🌱

Learn more about this restoration project and check out a trail map ➡ https://www.lancasterconservancy.org/news/meadow-restored-new-trail-opened-at-safe-harbor-nature-preserve/

📸: At Safe Harbor Nature Preserve by Avery Van Etten